


To Boldly Go

by virdant



Category: Star Trek, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: Conversations, Gen, Jedi Appreciation (Star Wars), Jedi Culture & Tradition (Star Wars), Jedi Culture Respected, Star Trek is the Exploracorps, The Force, Worldbuilding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-08
Updated: 2020-12-08
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:55:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27954992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/virdant/pseuds/virdant
Summary: There are many paths for a Jedi to take, but that doesn’t mean those paths never cross.In which Obi-Wan Kenobi meets up with an old friend--“It was his calling,” Hikaru said. “He knew, just as we know. We know what our calling is.”
Relationships: Obi-Wan Kenobi & Hikaru Sulu
Comments: 9
Kudos: 87





	To Boldly Go

**Author's Note:**

> for all of my pals who are trekkie fans: please accept this offering from somebody who has watched two reboot movies and a handful of episodes.
> 
> many thanks to alex for reading through and trek-picking to fix all of my mistakes!

“Obi-Wan Kenobi, what’s this I hear about a padawan?”

Obi-Wan had only just gotten off the transport from his mission, Anakin in tow. He hadn’t heard this voice in years, not since they got their exploracorps posting and went off into the Unknown Regions to go where no sentient had ever gone before.

“Hikaru Sulu?”

Hikaru grinned. There was a cruiser behind him, still sleek for all of its rough edges from years of work. They’d been initiates together, and then Hikaru had, instead becoming a knight, instead gone into an exploracorps posting: to map uncharted regions, to study hyperspace routes, to serve as first contact for humanitarian missions. “Hey there, Obi-Wan.”

“I thought you were in the Unknown Regions!”

“I was. I just got back.”

He was still in-uniform; Hikaru had only thrown a robe over the yellow top that was typical of pilots in the exploracorps. When Hikaru said that he’d just gotten back, he meant it.

“Listen,” Hikaru said, “I’ve got to get settled in, maybe sit in a Fresher for an hour, but after late-meal? Room of a Thousand Gardens? Let’s catch up. You bring the tea.”

Obi-Wan smiled. “Let’s.”

* * *

“So,” Hikaru said.

“So,” Obi-Wan echoed.

When Obi-Wan and Hikaru were initiates, Hikaru knew he was destined for the exploracorps. “I just know,” Hikaru would say, when Obi-Wan would ask. “Just like you know you’re meant to be a Knight. I’m meant to be out there, charting the stars.” So despite Hikaru’s excellent swordsmanship—rumors had it that Master Dooku was thinking about taking him as a padawan for his skill at Makashi—Hikaru had gone to Crechemaster Lurtolo and when he was eighteen, was assigned to the exploracorps and when he was 22, sent out on the Enterprise to map the Unknown Regions.

“It’s been years,” Obi-Wan finally said. The Room of a Thousand Gardens had changed, since Hikaru had started to spend more time on a cruiser than in the Temple. Not very much, but it had changed nonetheless. The plants had grown, the waterfalls had eroded away more soil. They were small changes, barely imperceptible to those who visited the Temple frequently, but Hikaru could see the changes more clearly, from his years away. It was not quite a new world, but it was different, the Temple growing in a direction he was not.

For a moment, Obi-Wan had no words. Hikaru was patient, the way all Jedi learned patience. They sat and sipped their tea in silence, listening to the rustle of plants and the ripple of waterfalls. Then, Hikaru began to speak.

He talked about the plants he saw, on every planet he flew to. He was on ground missions more often than most, his lightsaber skills an asset when it came to landing and exploring on the ground. He talked about the bright flowering trees that he saw, their leaves as petals, their branches the stems. “We landed in the spring,” Hikaru said, a hand resting on his knee as he talked. “And the air was full of pollen. Healer McCoy had his hands full with that planet.”

Obi-Wan leaned, chin on his hand, listening.

Qui-Gon had instilled a love of living things into Obi-Wan, partially through osmosis. It was hard to not fall in love with the simple joy of flourishing life, not when their quarters had been filled with it. And Hikaru had always loved botany, had spent hours in the Archives digging through holobook after holobook. He had never been fully satisfied with books, enjoying spending hours in the Room of a Thousand Fountains investigating the flora, wanting to see life flourish in its natural habitat.

It was good, Obi-Wan thought, that Hikaru had been able find his calling. That he had gone out to see every planet, to map every star, to find new life and protect it. It was good.

And he was still a Jedi, for all that he had not chosen to become a Knight. Obi-Wan saw, from the well-worn grip of the lightsaber by Hikaru’s side, that he had never stopped practicing his katas.

“Not as much use for Makashi on unknown planets,” Hikaru said, holding the hilt in his hand. “Master Dooku would probably be disappointed in me.”

“Master Dooku left the Order,” Obi-Wan said. “He’s not around to give you a disappointed look.”

“When did that happen?”

“A while ago.” Obi-Wan remembered the way Master Dooku’s face had been set—like stone, so different from the Qui-Gon’s face when it was turned to the sun. “He was—”

He was determined. He had found a path to walk, and he was determined to see it to the end. Obi-Wan had recognized that expression: had seen it on Qui-Gon’s face, had seen it on Master Yoda’s, had seen it in Hikaru’s and even on his own when he looked in the mirror. There was a moment when a Jedi knew.

“He took up his family seat on Serreno,” Obi-Wan said. “He said he could do more, like that.”

The same way Hikaru had known that he could do more in the exploracorps as a pilot instead of as a Knight. The same way Obi-Wan had known that it was his destiny to be a Knight.

The same way Qui-Gon had seen Anakin and known that he was destined for greater things, and now Obi-Wan was to guide him to do just that.

“It was his calling,” Hikaru said. “He knew, just as we know. We know what our calling is.”

Obi-Wan met Hikaru’s gaze over their teacups. “We do, don’t we?”

They sat in the Room of a Thousand Gardens, tea in hand, listening to the rush of water and the rustle of leaves. They sat and drank and sat and drank until their cups were empty, and the solar lamps had dimmed to nightfall. Slowly and slowly, the lights faded until it was dark and they were very small in the vastness. Then they sat in the quiet, breathing in quiet unison, watching the fireflies emerge and glow, luminous lights guiding their path forward.

**Author's Note:**

> you can find me at the following places:
> 
>   * asian jedi agenda, my new writing discord, where people yell about trek wars (pls ask for link)
>   * Follow me on twitter [@virdant](http://www.twitter.com/virdant/)
>   * [Like & retweet on twitter](https://twitter.com/virdant/status/1336247976084217857)
>   * Comment and kudo below
> 



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